Apple plans to make the leap from its Lightning ports to USB-C in order to comply with European standards and continue to be present in that market
Apple announced that it plans to migrate the Lightning charger to the USB-C standard in the coming years. The decision is due to new European regulations that require manufacturers of electronic devices to adopt the USB standard.
The company’s decision was informed by Greg Joswiak, Apple’s senior vice president of worldwide marketing, who stated that the company has no choice but to comply with what the legal framework establishes.
This suggests that while Apple plans to adopt the new standard, it is an imposed decision and not something they feel comfortable with. However, not doing so would imply that the manufacturer would not have access to the European market, which represents an important part of the income produced by the company annually.
Regarding the waiting period to start seeing the new devices with a USB-C charger, he explained that this will depend directly on the European authorities, who are the ones who “dictate the times.” In this sense, the recently approved law on universal chargers foresees that by the fall of 2024 all smartphones will already have this type of connector.
Something that the Apple manager preferred not to respond to is whether the company will adopt the USB-C standard throughout the world, or if, on the contrary, this will be a one-time event in Europe.
Joswiak said that despite what supporters of the single-charger idea claim, phasing out lightning chargers will only create a lot of electronic waste, which is what you’re supposed to avoid.
He added that from Apple they consider that the current model of adapters that can accept both USB-C and Lightning cables is the best option because it provides autonomy to the user to be able to reuse their charger without having to use a single type of cable that forces the industry to having to change the way it operates.
An alternative that Apple has to not give its arm to twist may be to adopt a wireless charging system for all its devices, so that they do not require cable connections. This would allow it to avoid law enforcement while keeping Apple independent when it comes to chargers.
However, Apple has not issued any type of comment on the matter, so it is not known if they have evaluated this option or if it may become feasible.